Bread Machine Sourdough Bread
Bread machine sourdough bread doesn’t have to be complicated! This version uses your discard for flavor and instant yeast for a dependable rise, and you get a soft, tender loaf of sourdough sandwich bread in just a few hours. Add everything to the pan, press start, and walk away!
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: A soft sourdough discard loaf with a golden crust, made simple with the help of your bread machine.
Why you'll love it: Fresh bread made with sourdough discard for flavor and instant yeast for reliable rise, so it can be mixed, proofed, and baked with no kneading in 3 ½ hours!
How to make it: Combine discard with water, sugar, oil, salt, flour, and instant yeast, pour it into your bread machine, and let the machine do the work.
Kevy called me from work while I was reorganizing the fridge. Heavy sigh!
Usually, that’s a him job, because it doesn’t really bug me. But at this point, I’ve got various sourdough starters, discards, and somewhere-in-betweens happening in there and I have run out of room.
He was razzing me about my ferment-y buddies taking up all the fridge space and I thought to myself: I gotta deal with this and I really don’t need to eat more sourdough brownies!
This sourdough bread machine recipe is dedicated to using discard!
Jump to:
Key Ingredients
Sourdough Discard: This recipe is pretty flexible when it comes to starter discard. Use the stuff you’ve been saving in the fridge for a week or use the leftover’s from this morning’s feeding. Just make sure your starter is 100% hydration, meaning the starter is fed with equal weights of flour and water. Use room temperature discard and stir down any bubbles before measuring.
Yeast: Because sometimes you just want instant gratification when it comes to sourdough goodies, this includes instant yeast. You’ll be enjoying freshly baked sourdough bread machine bread in mere hours with this recipe!
If you don’t have instant yeast or bread machine yeast
Use active dry yeast. Increase the amount to 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast and bloom it in the warm water until bubbly before adding to the bread pan.
Read More: Bread machine yeast substitutes
How To Make Bread Machine Sourdough Bread
This recipe makes a 2 lb loaf – please ensure that your bread maker has a 2 lb loaf capacity before starting.
Add Ingredients To Bread Pan:
- Combine the liquid ingredients: 1 cup sourdough discard (stirred down), 3/4 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Layer the dry ingredients as follows; 3 cups bread flour followed by 1 ½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast. Either sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour, where it's not touching the water or create a well in the flour, then add the yeast there.
Bake:
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine. Select Basic, Light Crust, and 2 lb Loaf options. If your machine does not have all these settings, simply select the Basic or White setting.
- Allow the bread machine to bake.
This is the hard part! Walk away! You'll be tempted to check on your bread and then start panicking cause the texture looks weird, the dough looks too wet, or the corners still have dry flour. Don't worry, I did all the peeking for you through the process.
During first knead: (about 10 minutes into the cycle) Some dry flour may remain around the edges while the wet looking dough comes together.
- I like to remove the mixing paddle after the last punch down.
After the final punch down: (about 1 hour and 30 minutes into the cycle) The dough still looks soft and slightly wet but is holding together.
- Fully proofed dough prior to baking.
After the final proof: (about 2 hours and 15 minutes into the cycle) The dough looks softer and wetter than a typical bread dough but it’s light and airy, full of visible bubbles under the surface, has expanded noticeably.
Cool:
- Remove the bread pan from the bread machine. Overturn the baked loaf onto a wire mesh cooling rack.
Don’t leave the loaf in the machine after it finishes
Remove it as soon as the cycle ends. The keep warm function can continue heating the loaf and leave you with a drier crust and crumb.
- Brush the top of the loaf with butter.
- Allow the bread to cool completely (if possible, I know it's hard!) before cutting.
Expert Tips
- Measure it right. Flour is very difficult to measure consistently when using cups, so to get the most accurate amount, stir the flour well in your bag or container, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Alternatively, just use the weights provided in the recipe card.
- Set your expectations. This is a “quick” sourdough bread maker recipe because it uses discard and instant yeast. It doesn’t have the same amount of tang as an overnight fermented sourdough loaf, but it’s damn delicious either way!
- Check the age. Not all sourdough discards are equal. Fresher sourdough discard will have a much more mild sour flavor than an aged discard that’s been hiding in the back of your fridge for 3 weeks. I prefer to use a discard that’s been fed within the last 7 days.
- Warm up routine. If my discard is straight out of the fridge I use the Whole Wheat setting on my Breville Custom Loaf, which includes a preheat phase that I use to bring cold ingredients to temperature. Bread machine cycles vary, so check your manual to see if yours does too!
- Ready to get started? My easy sourdough starter is ready to work with in 24 hours!
Why This Recipe Works
Sourdough discard brings fermented flavor. Sourdough discard has already gone through fermentation, so even though it isn’t doing the heavy lifting of raising this loaf, it still brings the fermented, slightly tangy flavor you want from sourdough.
Instant yeast makes the rise reliable. A standard bread machine cycle just doesn’t give naturally leavened sourdough enough time to rise consistently. Instant yeast takes over the job of leavening, giving this loaf a dependable rise in about 3 ½ hours while the discard provides the character.
Oil and sugar keep the loaf soft and tender. This recipe is designed for a soft sandwich style loaf, rather than a chewy, crusty artisan bread. The oil helps keep the crumb tender and moist, while a small amount of sugar adds sweetness and supports browning.
Sourdough Bread Machine Recipe FAQs
This sourdough bread machine recipe makes one 2 lb loaf and can’t be doubled in a bread machine due to capacity constraints. Ensure that your bread machine has the capacity for at least 2 lb before starting – I use my Breville Custom Loaf with a 2 ½ lb capacity for this recipe.
Discard that has been in the fridge for a week or even a week and a half works fine. In this recipe, the discard is included for flavor, so the yeast does the rising. The older the discard, the more sour the bread will taste. I prefer discard that was fed within the last 7 days.
If your discard has been hiding in the back of the fridge and shows any signs of fuzzy mold, pink or orange streaks, or smells rotten, throw it away immediately.
This is a “quick” sourdough. Because it uses discard and instant yeast, it doesn’t have as much tang as an overnight fermented loaf. The age of the discard impacts flavor: fresher discard tastes milder, while older discard tastes more sour.
–Dense: Old yeast, cold discard, cold water, or too much flour. Use the scoop and level method if you’re using cups as a measure, or for more consistent results use the weights provided in the recipe.
–Sunken or collapsed: Too much liquid, too much yeast, not enough flour or too high hydration discard. Confirm all ingredients were measured correctly. Use weighed measures for consistent results.
–Gummy: Loaf was cut before completely cooled, too much water, not enough flour. Allow loaf to cool completely before slicing, confirm all ingredients were measured correctly.
– Dry or hard crust: Loaf left in the machine after cycle ended. Remove loaf from machine as soon as the cycle ends.
Store your bread cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. After 12 hours, I recommend transferring it to a bread bag or sealed plastic bag and store it at room temperature. It'll stay fresh for 2-3 days.
Freezing a Whole Loaf:
To freeze, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to enjoy it, let the loaf thaw at room temperature for a few hours, no need to unwrap it until it's fully defrosted.
Freezing Slices:
For easy, grab-and-go portions, slice the cooled loaf and lay the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. This way, you can pull out just what you need. Toast or let thaw at room temperature and you're good to go!
This recipe was developed to create a soft dough. The biggest variables affecting the dough are the hydration of your discard, how your flour was measured, and if your water was measured using a water measuring cup or a standard measuring cup.
Bake In The Oven
You can also use your bread machine to mix and knead this sourdough discard dough, then finish the loaf in the oven!
- Follow steps 1-3 as you would if baking in the bread machine.
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine and choose the “Dough” cycle.
- Once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a boule or a loaf, then transfer it to a greased 9×5 loaf pan.
- Cover loaf pan with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 45- 60 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.
- Near the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake your loaf at 350°F. for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can check the doneness with an instant read thermometer - the internal temperature should be 195- 200°F.
- Turn baked loaf out onto a wire rack, then using a pastry or basting brush, brush the top with softened butter.
Variations + Substitutions
- Sugar: Swap the granulated sugar for brown sugar for a hint of caramel flavor.
- Whole wheat-ish: Replace up to ½ cup of bread flour for ½ cup whole wheat flour. This adds a little whole grain flavor without making it a whole wheat bread recipe.
- Oil: Swap out the oil for an equal amount of melted tallow or lard. I develop recipes using common ingredients, but I love to use my home-rendered tallow or lard in my bread recipes.
- Cardamom cranberry bread: Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 teaspoons cardamom with the dry ingredients. At the add-in beep, add 1 cup Craisins to the dough. Full cardamom cranberry bread recipe.
- Everything bagel bread: When the final rise ends and the machine is about to start baking, press pause, open the lid and brush the top of the loaf with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) and sprinkle generously with everything bagel seasoning. Close the lid and resume the bake cycle. Full everything bagel bread machine recipe.
More Great Sourdough Recipes
If you tried this Bread Machine Sourdough Bread recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Bread Machine Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard, stirred down, 250g
- ¾ cup warm water, 170g
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 25g
- 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, 6g
- 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, 8g
- 3 cups bread flour , 400g
- 1½ teaspoon instant or bread machine yeast, 6g
Instructions
Bake In Bread Machine:
- Combine the liquid ingredients: 1 cup sourdough discard, ¾ cup warm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Layer the dry ingredients as follows; 3 cups bread flour followed by 1½ teaspoon instant or bread machine yeast. Either sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour, where it's not touching the water or create a well in the flour, then add the yeast there.
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine. Select Basic, Light Crust, and 2 lb Loaf options. If your machine does not have all these settings, simply select the Basic or White setting.
- Optional: remove the mixing paddle after the final punch down.
- Once the bread machine has completed its cycle, remove the bread pan from the bread machine. It's important to get to your machine as soon as possible once it beeps complete to avoid it kicking into keep warm mode, this will dry out your bread and make it less than pleasant.
- Overturn the baked loaf onto a wire mesh cooling rack then using a pastry or basting brush, brush the top with softened butter. Allow the bread to cool completely (if possible, I know it's hard!) before cutting.
Bake In Oven:
- Combine the liquid ingredients: 1 cup sourdough discard, ¾ cup warm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Layer the dry ingredients as follows; 3 cups bread flour followed by 1½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast. Either sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour, where it's not touching the water or create a well in the flour, then add the yeast there.
- Place the baking pan into the bread machine and select the dough setting.
- Once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a boule or a loaf, then transfer it to a greased 9×5 loaf pan.
- Cover loaf pan with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 45- 60 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size. Near the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake your loaf at 350°F. for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can check the doneness with an instant read thermometer - the internal temperature should be 195- 200°F.
- Turn baked loaf out onto a wire rack, then using a pastry or basting brush, brush the top with softened butter.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Measure it right. Flour is very difficult to measure consistently when using cups, so to get the most accurate amount, stir the flour well in your bag or container, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Alternatively, just use the weights provided in the recipe card.
- Set your expectations. This is a “quick” sourdough bread maker recipe because it uses discard and instant yeast. It doesn’t have the same amount of tang as an overnight fermented sourdough loaf, but it’s damn delicious either way!
- Check the age. Not all sourdough discards are equal. Fresher sourdough discard will have a much more mild sour flavor than an aged discard that’s been hiding in the back of your fridge for 3 weeks. I prefer to use a discard that’s been fed within the last 7 days.
- Warm up routine. If my discard is straight out of the fridge I use the Whole Wheat setting on my Breville Custom Loaf, which includes a preheat phase that I use to bring cold ingredients to temperature. Bread machine cycles vary, so check your manual to see if yours does too!
- Ready to get started? My easy sourdough starter is ready to work with in 24 hours!
I did the basic recipe and turned out great. Right after I added the cardamom, cinnamon and crasins. It did not rise. Everything is exactly the same (yeast from the same jar and sourdough discard from the same jar as first batch). Do I also need more yeast?
That’s really strange! It should have risen even with the inclusions. The only thing I can offer is maybe a mis-measurement?
Hi Janelle, cinnamon has antifungal properties so I assume it stopped yeast from multiplying right in the beginning.
It can cause problems but the small amount of cinnamon added to a loaf shouldn’t much matter – I have a regular bread machine cardamom cranberry bread that uses all of those ingredients and doesn’t cause an issue
Amazing, delicious bread! Instead of spending 10+ hours on traditional sourdough, I can make this recipe in 3 hours with half the work and still get the sourdough flavor. I cannot recommend this recipe enough!
I need help on why my dough got holes/divots in it during the last rise. When it baked it got even more holes/divots and cracks.. please help.
I don’t! How was the texture of the dough during the kneading cycles? Did you happen to check?
I’ve made this a number of times now and it’s delicious. I need a bit more water that the recipe, but otherwise follow to a tee. Thank-you for the great recipe!
This came out perfect and so delicious! Thank you!
Awesome! Love to hear this!
Hi can you make this without the yeast? I’d like to buy the breville machine but is the crusty loaf setting the same as a ‘sourdough’ setting? Or are we meant to adjust the dough and bake times accordingly? Thank you
My sister actually makes sourdough in her bread machine without yeast. Check out her recipe. Hopefully that helps!
Hi Ally, thank you for sharing this recipe just one question I am planning to bake this using my oven , do i need to do a second rise or just one rise is sufficient ? Thanks
I would do a second rise!
1. Can I use this recipe for rolls
2. Honey instead of sugar
3. Butter instead of oil
4. egg?
I have not tested this recipe with those modifications. I can’t see why it wouldn’t make good rolls, or why you can’t sub honey for sugar, and butter for oil, I can’t speak to the egg. Sorry!
Tried this recipe and it was a success. Instead of using the dough cycle I completed the bread in the bread machine and removing the paddle when prompted on the machine.
Ah so glad you enjoyed it! I love to make my bread machine do the work and then bake it in the oven. You might like my Everything Bagel Bread that uses the same process!
This a wonderful loaf of bread. I found this recipe to be easy to do. Also I am a fan of this sourdough ingredients. I am just saying you should try this, and I am sure you will agree with me. This is great. Thanks. SB.
Really glad to hear that you liked this recipe Susan!
I ran out of flour but have a bag of 100% organic hard red spring wheat berries to grind. I also have a bag of rye Berries. What are your thoughts about that?
I would probably stick with the red spring wheat – rye flour behaves a bit differently! I do have a bread machine rye bread recipe too!
This is the first recipe I have used where my loaf came out fluffy. I did put my starter in the fridge for several months and when i fed it, it was amazing this time! I just started trying to make bread a year ago and I am very happy with this recipe, I even shared a cup of starter and this recipe with a friend. I put some rosemary in the last one, but i will put 2 tbsp next time for a 2 lb. loaf.. THANK YOU!
So glad to hear this!
Me too! Adding the active yeast instead of relying solely on the starter was a game changer for me. I use the bread machine exactly as the recipes described, then bake in my oven on 450 in a dutch oven lined in parchment with lid/covered for 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake uncovered for another 15. I like a thick crust but the butch oven sometimes results in too dense of bread. The combination of this recipe has resulted in a perfect loaf!
Mine came out pretty dense. Any thoughts on where I went wrong? Tips?
Is your yeast fresh and active?
I tried this recipe and now it is the only one I use! I use an older bread machine and set it at basic bread, dark crust, and then I use both extra rise beeps, so it probably gets an extra 20min. rise. I am going to try using a little whole wheat flour in the recipe and see how it goes. I will start with 1/4 cup. I think it would work well as a raisin bread too. Thanks so much for this recipe! So Good, and saves a lot of time and mess!
So glad you like it! I do have a cranberry cardamom bread recipe that is perfect in the bread maker, just sub cardamom and craisins for cinnamon and raisins!
Hi! Can you use all purpose white flour instead of bread flour for this recipe?
Hey Jennifer, you can use all purpose, but you may need to add more flour. All purpose has a lower protein content than bread flour which affects its ability to absorb water. If you want to use AP flour, I would keep a close eye on it during the mixing cycles!
@Jennifer, I used all purpose flour and thought it was great!
@Jennifer, i have used nothing but AP but being in North GA I added another tsp of instant yeast.. it has served me well